Does anyone have any ideas as to how I could go about doing this, or has anyone gone through it and have any suggestions or any stories they have heard that could help me out one day. I have always longed to be my own boss, and I don't mind working hard to get it. I'd love some feedback.

That's the website for the Small Business Administration. They have a lot of resources. You may also want to check out the business department of your local community college as they have Small Business Development Centers there. I've been to the one in my area to help with my business plan.

Also, try starting really small. Something you can do part time to supplement your income, and is cheap enough to do that you won't lose a ton of money. If you can succeed in the small scale, you'll have a bit of a better chance moving up to what you really want to do. And it will be easier to get a loan if nessecary if an investor/bank can see that you have some experience with running your own biz.

Best of luck to you. I'm in the same boat myself. I'd love to be my own boss and do what I love at the same time. Here's to hoping.

it depends on how much interference you get from the city, county ,state, and myriad federal agencies who all want their palms greased. as a cook, i always thought it would be a great idea to have my own little place. well, when the opportunity presented itself, i went in on it. all the headaches from zoning laws, building improvements, taxes, fees, assesments, insurance, unemployment, etc... were too much. plus, any kind of dry spell, even for a day, cuts into your bottom line so much, Karlos is right on with his 3 factors. in the end, we ended up selling to a Thai family (everyone from grandpa on down to the kids are in there 24/7- that's the way to run a small business- Ferengi style) and using the money to spend a week in Mexico (there were 4 of us.) so, unless you have all the time and money in the world to waste, it's actually easier to work for someone else and let them deal with the details while you drone on like dilbert. I would suggest using the time and money to go to a city college and learn something new, but that really didn't do much for me either. now I have 2 jobs and work 7 days a week. but i'm not dealing with any paperwork.